The testing of RF communication devices requires an environment that is ‘free’ from RF “interference” that fills many current industrial and or commercial settings. This interference includes RF signals from wireless devices including cell phones, pagers, 802.11, RFID devices and Bluetooth enabled devices to list well-known devices. While the above list is not meant to be exhaustive it does present common examples of systems that generate RF signals. Testing is therefore conducted in chambers where the RF device under test can be isolated from outside interference and thus be protected from interference from the adjacent electronic devises.
An outcome of the isolation requirements is that the RF device being tested will not be able to communicate with antenna located outside of the chamber i.e. outside of the isolation. Therefore, RF test chambers require an antenna be incorporated in the chamber.
Current RF test chambers implement an antenna that is only suitable for communications over a narrow frequency bandwidth. Further current antenna designs are only suitable for small test chambers as may be suitable for the testing of single devices i.e. as in an open-air communication test.
Therefore, there is a need for an RF test chamber that can accommodate one or more devices for testing and is capable of testing devices over numerous frequencies. For example one may wish to test a device that is capable of communicating using radios that include 802.11, NB (narrow band), Bluetooth and GSM.